This list has been very helpful in many ways. Many members are highly knowledgeable in the field of accessibility and the comments they provide are usually quite useful. Of course this is to be expected from a list run by the W3C. It is humbling and exciting to see posts from leaders in the field of web accessibility.
I know that many email lists have issues with people being rude and unkind. It seems it is simply the nature of lists. Whenever you have large groups of people who may never meet each other discussing topics about which they are passionate, you will have a few who don't seem to take other people's feelings into consideration when replying.
A few days ago I asked a question and received one kind and helpful response (thank you Al) and two responses that made me decide that I will never ask this list another question. I will take my questions to other lists that I know to be more forgiving. This morning I read a message that contained a sentence that was rude and completely unnecessary. The world is filled with too much incivility as it is. One would hope that a list dedicated to helping all people easily use the World Wide Web would be a kinder place to learn.
Thank you to those of you who have been helpful in a civil manner and thank you to all who have been brave enough to ask questions I have been wondering about. I will most likely read the archives from now on.
Sincerely,
Dona Patrick